Reverse the Hourglass
by TsuchiNoOkamiHime
Summary: Akuroku AU Roxas remembers at time when shadows covered the world, when each world was connected together. When the Keyblade exsisted. But in this world, everythings different, and he's had to change himself in order to live a normal life...
1. Prelude

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING. The characters in this fan fiction do not belong to me; I merely made a fan-based plot for them, meh:P

The Kingdom Hearts character © Square Enix and Disney

Um… this will eventually be AkuRoku + hints of other pairing perhaps… but only hints. So, that means YAOI haters: flames will be used to cook my dinner/lunch/breakfast/whatevertimeofdayitis… cough

Okay, first fan fiction, don't bother being nice ;3 I'll try my best and blah blah… I hate Author's Notes so I'll just start the story already.

Reverse the Hourglass

A Kingdom Hearts story

Prelude: We were right/They Were Wrong

The darkness bled in surrounding the figure on the ground as a teen, short and thin for his age, kneeled beside him. The young teen spoke up, asking the much older male:

_"Axel… what were you trying to do?"_

The brunette shifted slightly, leaning closer to hear the fading male. Those pair of green eyes shifted too, moving to a point just to the right of the boy's head. A pair of faint, iridescent eyes starting to appear...

**"I wanted to see Roxas…"**

The phantom just behind the teen grew more apparent, taking a more defined form, clinging to the brunette's back, invisible to all except those two cat like green eyes, staring… staring with the cheesy make up he couldn't live without to make him even more exotic despite the two upside-down tear drops. He still didn't know if they were tattoos or just make up… but knowing his partner… the figure took a step through Sora, his body semi-transparent but there. Now the ghost looked directly down at the dying figure, those eyes following him, mouth still moving, still holding a conversation with the other teen, his Somebody, his Other. The blonde phantom and the fading red head kept their eyes locked, talking with their eyes, no words need.

_**They were past that.**_

A small tear fled past the blonde's eyelashes, clambering down a round cheek before pausing, clinging to the teen's chin before down it fell with a plop… The phantom raised his hands to his chest, the area where a heart would be. The oldest male didn't stop talking though his eyes were screaming at the translucent boy. A small piece of a heart jagged, broken, but absolutely glowing was produced, a symbol glowed a dark black, fading to gray then disappearing… the Nobodies' insignia.

"We were right… Each one of us…"

The teen pause in his rush as the male closed his eyes, fading into the darkness, the teen fell to his knees, a sudden grip of fear hitting him. Heartless crawled around, mindlessly staring at the two pieces of hearts, staring at the only point of their being… or non being. The darkness was swirling around invisible to the oblivious Sora who started to walk away, towards a portal the oldest male opened. The phantom was being tugged, tied by a golden thread to the brunette, the golden thread wrapped around the full beating heart they both shared… A pair of cerulean eyes turning back to his partner, the person he trusted, the one who had protected him, accepted him…

"Axel! Take it! Please!"

The world disappeared as Roxas was pulled back into his own existence, inside Sora's mind. Soon the world was all too familiar through Sora's eyes a Castle Oblivion appeared. Roxas invisibly gave the teen directions through the maze of a castle, turned his head when the rest of his comrades were killed… the piece of heart he had possessed, tried to give to Axel… was gone. Did it make it to the red head? … Or to the Heartless?

**"Let's meet in the next life…"**

_**And years passed, the little phantom sitting in the back of the brunette's consciousness, replaying their memories, watching, hoping and trying to enjoy the sadness and pain he felt, it was more than the others had ever felt… **_

_**And soon Roxas was forgotten, along with Namine, Organization XII, Sora and Co. fought their last battle, time passed, history turned to legend, legend quickly faded to myth, and then disappeared.**_

**"Where do I look? Axel? Who?"**

**End Prequel**

Well, that was the intro, I know, I know, confusing somewhat? Eh shrugs If you're confused about the plot, you'll see in later chapters, if it's the P.O.V. its in third, though it tilts somewhat to 2nd person with Roxie… Anyway, please review/critique/ hell at me for another chapter!

**5 Reviews Needed for Next Chapter. :D**

Ja mata

TsuchiNoOkamiHime


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING. The characters in this fan fiction do not belong to me, I merely made a fan-based plot for them, neh:P

The Kingdom Hearts character © Square Enix and Disney

Yeah… this is Akuroku, there might be subtle hints if any at all of other pairings. So… flamers will be used for gay/Axel puns (they go hand-in-hand XD)

**Thanks to everyone for the reviews W**

Reverse the Hourglass

Chapter One: The Solemn Singer

The bus hissed and screeched as it pulled into its final stop for the day. The red and black designs were peeling, suggesting that the vehicle had either carried its load of travelers for many years, or the driver, Cecil, took the 30 foot bus mud-bogging (Highly unlikable)… And as a figure stepped out into the crisp pre-dawn air, the driver smiled, having known the kid for a good 6 years. That was their way of greeting, a simple smile usually, a nod on bad days, a small piece of chat on holidays. It was nice but not what the teen wanted.

A pair of big baby blue eyes flicked around lazily as he walked up towards a store front, shifting the familiar weight of his guitar case to his other shoulder. His small frame shivered slightly at the ungodly cold chill of the city, wind whipping at his black and white checkerboard scarf. He couldn't help but smile at his little trademark print, when he saw it in the thrift store he couldn't resist, and after all, it was getting its use right? Regardless, the small male tugged his cap lower over his unusual hair, a deep honey blonde that defied gravity without gel, and certainly attracted unwanted attention when exposed.

"Oi, kid, you going to just stand there or what? We're going to start getting the early risers soon…" The blonde boy blinked glancing up at the hostess of Rosaline's Internet Café: Rosaline Lockette. Of course no one called her by her real name, except oblivious guests, instead the staff and friends called her Siren, fearing her wrath. The teen stepped into the café giving the woman a shake of the head. "It's too early…" The café had a homey feeling with its maroon walls, its darkly-stained wooden tables and chairs, each with golden cushions. The lights were turned medium, not too bright for those staring at computers for hours, not too dark for those that didn't have a key board pad memorized. Red Chinese paper lanterns mingled with modern burnished silver fixtures channeled the light onto the walls, instead of directly overtop those surfing the net (a few costumers complained of the lights 'watching' them). Different knickknacks covered the walls, the male inspected them as he walked through the maze of chairs, tables, wires, and benches coming to a small stage in the back, obviously set up for music.

"Hey Checkers, we got a couple CDs and sheet music donated by the regulars, some more instrumental punk from Glenn and Jewel sent some karaoke metal…" The woman continued with a list, a lingering glare from 'Checkers' bouncing off her. Cursing her under his breathe, the teen turned to the small disc jockey station, noticing a nice pile of CDs, examining the ones with asterisks that marked the instrumentals before flipping through the thick packet of sheet music. The blonde gave a small scratch to his cap, as if he was thinking before he started to boot up the equipment. He was grateful of that bet that he had managed to score on Siren, she no longer questioned anything he did, or rather _didn't_ do. The first years were horrid, apparently, wearing a hat 24/7 was suspicious, and the premature male baldness jokes had worn away his patience…

Soon the other employees arrived, excluding of course, Siren's cousin who worked as a waiter, he was only there at night, after his college courses. One of them brought a stool over to the blonde music maker, setting it a ways back from the edge. A pair of blue eyes shut as a small tilt of the head was given to the girl before the thin male brought out the guitar, tuning it as the first early birds started to come in, the smell of cooking of eggs, muffins, new bread and pancakes among other things. The 19-year old blonde put a small red box with the word 'REQUESTS' in bright orange was put on the front stage. 'Well, all is ready; better start the morning routine…' Soon the guitar was picked up, it was a deep blue with a pale yellow and white trim, with musical notes of water painted on the front. A tribute to a friend now gone… And so, cheery, soft music flooded out of the instrument, the same melody played for the friend who taught him how to play a life ago.

This was his job, playing music for the crowd at Siren's café, keeping a low profile, staying away from the spotlight the Keyblade and Sora put on him…."Roxas!" The pressure of finding out who he was… "Sora? No, Roxas…" Getting chased down by the Organization… The imaginary Twilight Town, with DiZ and… "Roxas!" "Roxas!"

Axel…Axel… Roxas…Axel…Axel…

"Roxas…. Roxas… ROXAS!"

The blonde hared boy snapped to attention, his fingers have automatically gone through the two songs that he opened up with every morning. He blinked at Siren's hand that was about to snap in front of his face again. "Hello there Checkers… back from your space trip?" The teen had enough decency to flush slightly before coughing, sliding around the lady to glance around the café before scooping the slips of paper out of the request box.

'Geez, there weren't THAT many people there this early in the morning… and the number of requests reflected the lack of customers. Regardless, blondie picked up the guitar, sat upon his red cushion pedestal (stool) and strummed the chords a bit before starting to play the first request he received.

_"You've got this new filled up with smoke_

_And I've got veins tangled close_

_'Till the jukebox bars you frequent the safest place to hide_

_Long nights spent with your most obvious weakness_

_You start shaking at the thought… You are everything I want_

_Because you're everything I'm not…"_

And so, the blonde continued singing his heart out, trying his best and putting everything he had into it, He did this for every song, every request, every tip and paycheck he earned. He wasn't rich, by no means or definition, but he was making his way up. He was happy, content too at this new life… but there was that loneliness of remembrance, the hopefulness of finding someone, anyone from the last life… but no one, no one recognized him, or them him. No one, he met no one who stirred his memories, none of the Somebodies were there of course, they had lived their lives, **they**had their existence…

The depressing train of thought crashed quickly and forcefully as Roxas started up another song, laughing softly into the microphone, scanning the crowd before thanking Xenia, one of the usuals, for the… odd request. Of course the woman just laughed into her one cup of coffee with 4 cups of milk and sugar.

_Kil__! I __wanna__ take you to a GAY BAR!_

_I __wanna__ take you to a GAY BAR!_

_I __wanna__ take you to a gay bar, gay bar, GAY BAR!_

The blonde was slightly flushed when he finished, he was standing up by now, mic off its stand; he defiantly put on a good show for the girls here. Hey, they tipped well, and they were keeping up with tradition according to the dollar bills in the tip jar beside the request box.

"_Hey, sorry to all you males out there… they made me do it!'You take any request Roxie' . . . That's what they say… 'Or you don't get paid'… Help me…"_

The blonde singer pointed jokingly to Siren and some of the waitress' all of whom giggled mischievously at Roxas and the customers. The blue-eyed male sighed, shrugging… he had gotten a lot looser in this life, then again, having to worry about someone coming to kill you can make life slightly stressful. One of the five bottles of water was opened, a small gulp taken before the music started back up again.

Unfortunately, 'unlucky XII' followed the blonde like a old faithful dog looking for its long lost owner, because today would be both the best and worst day of the 19-year-olds existence.

_Jingle Jing Jingle_

The blonde boy gulped, clutching his guitar to keep it from falling to the floor, glad that he had just finished a song… Two figures walked into the large café that was slowly but surely filling up with those trying to get a cup of caffeine before work. One was obviously a whore-wannabe, with a short black leather skirt and a revealing frilly blouse that had leather ties, making it look like a pirate shirt. She had go-go boots with purple laces, a purple chocker to accent it or some weird chick fashion term like that. What ever, the girl didn't strike a chord of remembrance and repulsed him slightly, regardless if you shouldn't judge others… She was blathering on into the other figure, her voice carrying faintly as the pair made their way to a table. She sounded obnoxious… Roxas blinked at his sudden nastiness before shaking his head, riffling through the request box, picking up a casual song, glancing around from table to table, pausing a tad longer at the pair sitting down, quickly examining the male before moving on. The man the whore had her pudgy arm linked with was pale and tall. He had red streaks through his tied up black hair. He wore a corset with an unusual pattern on it: ribs. Woven in grey and white-silver thread was the rib bones of a human skeleton in the spots where the actual bones would be under the thin, drawn-out skin. The edge of tight leather goth pants could be seen hanging of hips.

**No….**** it's not him…**

**END CHAPTER 1**

**Well, so this is a horrid cliff hanger XD Incase you can't tell, the guitar is ****Demyx's**** sitar in guitar form with musical water notes on it. Also**** thanks for the reviews and hits W Like before, I need at least 5 reviews before I update.**

**Ja**** Mata! TsuchiNoOkamiHime**


	3. Chapter 2

Well, here's the second chapter, I only received a few reviews, for the prelude and first chapter :P hint hint nudge nudge Oh well, there was enough people at least reading it so… Here ya go!

Disclaimer: Okay, I don't own anything; the songs in the last chapter are copyrighted to their respective owners. I do not own Kingdom Hearts or its characters :\

Okay, I'm not exactly sure where this story is going to go, it originally was going to only be 5 chapters long… but I might stretch it to 10 or so, It's gone from a one-shot like story to a novel in my head XD But even then, it doesn't completely fit together right so it might just be short and clipped off. shrug This is why I need reviews shakes fist x

Anyway… Start Chapter 2

Reverse the Hourglass

Chapter 2: The Fool's Jaded Crown

The day ticked by… slowly and painfully as the blonde continued the daily routine of singing, alternating between his guitar, and the piano on the opposite side of the café, even the keyboard that played songs that contained too many instruments for one single performer got some action by the time lunch rolled in. With a small huff, the entertainer but on some soft jazz to filter through the room while he took a 10-minute break for his voice and fingers. The walls in Rosaline's Internet Café immediately drew him in, the pictures, small objects and even a quite handsome handful of magazine clippings lined the walls, either glued or nailed into place. Each month about 5 new objects would be placed in the sea of the store's memories. Of course, even the tables for eating had been decorated, beads and photos, surprisingly even the Café's first dollar, were all sealed under a thick layer of laminate in the tables. There was no way to be bored at this hang out. Water was taken quickly in with small, rapid sips on the blonde's part as he unconsciously tugged at the small cap he was wearing, his mind wandering amongst long files of songs, chords, and memories…

His trance-like state was broken as a customer stepped up, two pairs of boots, one considerably more… go-go-ish than the other. '_'Go-go-ish'?? That's not even a word Roxas… your going crazy… again.'_ The blonde gave a small blink as a voice drifted towards him; it seemed so unbelievably high that the person that emitted it must be being pinched. As a pair of blue eyes glanced upward from his seat on the step of the stage, he noticed, low and behold, that there were bodies attached to those two sets of boots. _'It's the pair that walked in… wonder what they want, probably a song dedication to the girl…' _The singer's eyes narrowed as a torn up napkin fluttered down, whispering past his nose and unto his lap. He briefly registered that the female's lips were moving, though it was an incredible feat in Roxas' mind considering the sheer globs of lipstick and shimmer hanging of the puffy lips. Regardless, the young adult stared at the woman, watching her lips move for a second before the female glanced up at her counter part, looking for a comment or something rather. The female seemed to be content with having a one side conversation as her mouth continued to work, the blonde feeling slightly sorry for the body part…regardless, he glanced up quickly, his eyes getting caught on the mans' eyes… _'They're… multi-colored…'_ The young man smirked at the shorter male's reaction at the contacts he was wearing, nearest the iris the eyes had a ring of red that faded to purple, then the purple swirled into a deep blue, darker than Roxas' own, before the final outer ring was green. _Well, it's missing orange and yellow so…. Is it a rainbow-wannabe?_ The puzzled male thought as he looked back over to the still talking woman. The male was tempted to laugh at the fact that she could ramble for that long… _Poor guy… to be stuck with THAT…_

"_**Hey sis... shut up, the kid can't keep up with your trap."**_

Immediately the woman paused in her stream of words, glaring over at her… (Brother?) before continuing on, albeit at a moderate speed. The blonde looked over to the male as he called attention to himself again.

"_**Oi, sorry 'bout taking up your break time…"**_

The male gave a huff, sending an agitated look at his sister who had started to chat off the ear of a nearby waitress.

This was the first time that the blonde had seen the other male up close and with out glancing, and he wasn't completely shocked, after all, you got all sorts of people from all walks of life in this town, it was one of those places that was surrounded by industry but remained small while neighboring towns flourished… so it was no surprise to see make up, restrictive clothes, collars, necklaces galore, and the stereotypical baggy pants with chains, belts, random patches of grey and black, and… Roxas blinked at a small patch that appeared on one of the ripped shirts, it had a Roman numeral on it, but of course it was mainly covered by the corset top… yes, a man was wearing a corset. The employee gave a small, obviously fake, smile to the siblings before picking up the song request, his mouth mechanically, thanking the woman, politely pointing out that if they wanted to drop off another request there was a request box (the multi-colored male gave a small snicker at the woman who look flustered for a minute) before the blonde male picked up the other request from the box, returning to his dais.

As the blonde quickly typed at the computer hooked up to the music he glanced around at the bustling café, his left hand mechanically going through the process of ending the record music, soon to be replaced by live performances again. Roxas moved away from the computer to pick up the blue abomination; his guitar. The wiry male waltzed back over to the computer, his right hand clicking away at the computer while his left held the guitar. It was times like this where it was good to be ambidextrous, something he hadn't really realized till his second re-life. The first had been… horrid… the fears of ever single shadow of a person, the rain beating down memories of the city… the slightest flicker of a flame and he was sent into a frenzy of fear. That had been about five or six lives ago, after he finally was released from Sora…

A pair of blue eyes blinked away the approaching thoughts, the young man reprimanding himself for thinking such things during work. _'Concentrate…'_ Another glance at the paper, at the messy scrawl of handwriting that read:

_**If I remember you will you remember me?**_

_**April Matson**_

The blonde swallowed hard, he didn't really like this song, not only was it somewhat slow but… it was just another one of those thins that triggered memories… and the few memories that _weren't_ filled with Heartless and Nobodies… were either fake or of **him**… fading away. Roxas sighed again, desperately wishing to ignore the request… but that guy and his sister were still here, waiting patiently for him to sing…. Or rather, Mr. Lanky was intently watching the blonde; the girl was already making use of the 'Internet' part of 'Rosaline's Internet Café'. The gaze of the older male in the crowd of people made the blonde falter slightly, before he raised his head up defiantly. _'It's just a song, get over it, there are many other requests in that box, the faster you get through this one, the faster it is to go through the others and go home.'_

The amp was soon plugged up to the guitar, the blonde give a soft strum, testing the connection before his fingers quickly sprung to action, the guitar strings chiming softly as the blonde had a weird feeling in his stomach, he waves it off as stage sickness, there was a larger-than-normal crowd after all. The café's noise level filed down to a dull roar, the two or three cheap speakers kicking in to blend and ease into the noise-crowded air. Roxas inhaled, his lungs filling, he counted two beats before beginning…

_I've come undone _

_Nobody's won _

_Being alone _

_Has given me hope _

_The seeds that are sown _

_Here on my own _

_Are giving me hope _

_Hope to burn again _

_**Helpless**_**… he **_remained_** in the ****back**** of **_his_** mind…. All he could **_**watch**_** was those **_**flames **_flickering **eating away **Dusks _**curling**_** around ****their **_**master**_**… **incinerating _**everything**_**… **including _**his partner**__**….**_

"_If I remember you, _

_Will you remember me? _

_If I remember you, _

_Will you remember me?" _

"_You_**know**_**, it's **_me_**… **__**Axel**__**."**_

"You_** really **_**DON'T **_**remember**__**?"**_

****

"_It killed me when you left _

_I become so torn _

_That once felt like theft _

_Is making me hope" _

_The __**dark **_**streets**_… the _**neon **_light__s __**casting **_green, _**blue**__ and __**red **_light _**on**__ a _**world **_**not **_meant to be_, that __**wasn't there**__, yet _**was**_… __just for__ the __**Nobodies. **__The Nobodies__, the _**shells**_ and __**left over **_**bodies**_ of the _once _**feeling, **_once **emo**_**tional **_**beings**_ who had_ lost_ their __**hearts**__ and __**became **_**Heartless**_… __**yesterday**__ was _so long ago_…_

"**Why**_** do **__you__** have **_the _**Keyblade**__**?!"**_

_The __**blindfolded **_figure_… __**Riku**__, he _**never **_liked _**him**_, he _**was**_ what __**constantly **_drove _**Sora, **_gave _his _**Somebody **_a _reason_ to __continue _**connecting**_ the __worlds _**why **_he__ wasn't __**blissfully **_ignorant_ of the __**other **__suffering _**worlds**_…_

"I_have_ to **find** _out_…"

"I _**would**_…."

"_Now that I can see _

_Who I'm meant to be _

_Now that I am one _

_I can burn again"_

_He _**watched**_, a __**voiceless **__bodiless, __**Nobody**__ that _had_ been _**reconnected**_ with __**his Other**__… but it __**wasn't**__ a _**satisfying **_feeling__ as _**emotions**_ were __**pushed harshly**__ onto a __new__ly _**forming **_HEART. __**Sora **__could__n't _**feel**_ or __see _but _**it was there **__slowly__grow__ing and __shining, _**bright**_er and _**bright**_er, __chasing _off _**the darkness**__ that __**Roxas**__ had __been coated _**in**_… _

_If I remember you, _

_Will you remember me? _

_If I remember you, _

_Will you remember me? _

"_It's _**me **you _**know**__…. __**Axel**__…"_

"_Who _are _**you**_?_"_

"**But**_… _**YOU**'RE_ TOO _**LATE**_!!"_

_And it's a silent voice _

_All I can hear _

_Ringin' in my ear _

_And it's your silent choice _

_Bring me new fears _

_It's bringing me to tears _

_**The darkness **_moved to_wards the __**figure**__ on __the ground _beside _**Sora**__, to the __**man**__ in the _**black cloak **to_wards __**the Nobody **__that had _tried_ to __**feel. **__**The darkness**__ was __**gnaw**__ing, __**fester**__ing, __**tear**__ing _**away**_ at __**HIS **__scorch__ed _**friend; **_his _**body **_crumpling__ while _**Roxas' **heart_ was _**made **_anew__ from __**a piece**__ of _**Sora's**_. It's __**then**__ that _he _saw__ it… _**it**_ hadn't been _**devoured **_yet__… it _could be _**used**__…_

"**Take**_ it…"_

_If I remember you, _

_Will you remember me? _

Roxas carried the last repeating stanza 4 times before his guitar stopping its melody, his eyesight wanted so badly to let those salty tears go, ones not too different for Sora's puddles that were created at the sight of Riku… his best friend, who had disappeared into darkness… The blonde barely registered the applause he received before quickly ducking behind the jockey's booth on the back portion of the stage. The pair of blue eyes quickly busied themselves, eyelids closing and opening frantically, fingers shakily flying over the keyboard as a couple more people stepped up towards the stage to drop off requests, their small nervous smiles marking them as relatively newcomers. The blonde straightened his breathing erratic and his hear, his HEART thumping wildly at his string of flashbacks. He caught Rosaline staring at him critically, like she was _analyzing_ him… The blonde quickly snapped back, his body tensing and relaxing before he walked carefully over to the request box, kneeling down to open the red box open, collecting the slips of paper before heading back to his booth, his whole face was a dead pan for now.

The jacket the blue-eyed male had on was casually removed (though he did get a handful of whistles) before picking his guitar back up, his pick at hand, his mind forcefully blocking out the memories till he could deal with them… and as he joked with the crowd through his microphone, sitting on a stool with a golden cushion, his eyes scanned the crowd, and locked with contact-hidden eyes. Such a strangled look was coming from the red and raven haired fellow. He blinked at Roxas having noticed him and his state, he gave a small nod to him before slipping slowly away, not even informing his sister of his leave apparently…

And as the figure opened the café door, Roxas restrained himself from calling after the male or running after him… this wasn't the movies, this was life. And he had a job to do…

_It's not him…._

Sorry it took forever to get up but, hey, the more reviews I get the faster I'll update, I need motivation too people

Um, anyway, I will get to work on Chapter 3, and I'll post it ONLY when I get at least 5 reviews :D

By the way, the song is: "Will You Remember Me" by April Matson  See disclaimer, I don't own the song or the artist… the reason I picked the song wasn't necessarily because of the tune (its okay but not my personal favorite, you might like it) but because of its lyrics I picked this song… I think it'd sound a bit better will a male voice but eh shrugs music isn't my forte.

Ja mata

TsuchiNoOkamiHime


	4. Chapter 3

Reverse the Hourglass

Well, another chapter, another confusing mess… Not much to say, this mostly is just getting the stage set for the next chapter which is already in the works  Gotta say I'm looking forward to Chapter 4…. cough But for now we have Chapter 3!!

(About the Roxas' room number and floor… there's a subliminal way of getting Axel out of it… I wonder if anyone will figure it out? I took me forever to remember how after coming back to write the other half of this chapter XD)

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Kingdom Hearts 2 or its characters. They belong to Square Enix and Disney; this is a fan-based fiction, I make no product off of it and most importantly… THIS IS SHOUNEN-AI/ YAOI! So flamers will be either used to 1) Keep me toasty up in Oklahoma (visiting, I'm a Floridian TT); or 2) Make horrid Axel puns; OR 3) Used to make s'mores :3

REVERSE THE HOURGLASS

Chapter 3:

Stand-Ins Are Never Appreciated Enough/

Life Gives You Lemons… What if You Are Allergic To Them?

The rest of the day at the café seemed to blur together into a melted memory, like a frosty treat on a summer day… the blonde blinked as he looked up at the ceiling of his small apartment. _12__th__ story, Room 5241… _Roxas drifted in and out of consciousness, drained from working at the café for most of the day. He worked from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. then went back to the café to be the Karaoke DJ from 9 to closing time at 11. In between the two shifts he would do numerous things like sleep, eat, and go shopping or other ordinary daily life activities. But the irregular schedule did keep the blue eyed male busy for the most part, but left just enough space for his other 'job', which would be starting in about 30 minutes. He sighed, looking over at the digital clock on his nightstand; the clock's face seemed to mock him with 5:30 in a big red font. "I better be able to finish this job before work… Boss will kill-"

"_Don't worry Roxas; it should be a quick job. There should only be a 1,000…"_

The light from the ceiling fan brightened visibly and concentrated in a corner till the voice became a figure. It was the tall blonde man from the time when Roxas was created by Sora carving out his own heart to free Kairi's heart. The blonde ignored the transparent old man, walking about the room, trying to find his other boot. "I'm not worried Ansem, I've done this multiple times, I just don't want this to talking all fucking night…"

The man that had originally introduced himself as DiZ seemed to stare blankly through Roxas before speaking.

"_But, next this time will be different…you know that. You weren't able to foresee tonight's events clearly were you? That magic can only be interfered with by fate which connects all beings… and I fear that fate is against you. But one cannot go against fate by oneself, you will need a partner. It's high time; you could easily get killed if you're by yourself."_

The man gave a harsh laugh, his expression visible since no mask of red cloth could hide his face. The man's creepy gold eyes zeroed in on Roxas again as his pale, ghostly form strode (more like floated) towards the other male. The younger male had a sense of déjà vu at the sight of those gold eyes. The same kind of eyes his apprentice had, the same ones his leader had…

_A pair_ of **gold eyes**, piercing _**his**_ _non-existence_

as **he** _determined_ _whether_ **the** _lanky teen_ of a _**Nobody **_could be **used**.

Xemnas _**towered**_ _**over**_ the pale-haired male, _**his hood**_ hiding 

**much **of _his features_ **besides the eyes**.

"**Do you know your real name?" **

**It was in **_Twilight Town_**, **shortly **after **_his_** creation** _into _non-existence**… an **_**oxymoron**_**… **_a freak_** and a ****bastard of nature **like the _others_**… ****that ****was the **_first time_** he met ****Xemnas…**

"_S-O-R-A…?"_

_The __**letters **_floated _in front of him__, _**mocking**_ him with the _**knowledge**_ of __who__ that __**name **_belonged to_, __**knowledge**__ that __he wanted _**so badly**_. And __as he stared longer__, _pondering _**each letter of the name**__, _the letters_ began to __**spin **_out of control_… __**faster**__ and _faster _blurring around him__, _**the word**_ caging him __**in **_before_…_

"**From now on…. Your new name is…"**

"_R-O-X-A-S …?"_

_The carousel of letters stop._

Roxas spoke up to the transparent older man: "I'm not going to be used, Ansem. YOU should be the one apologizing, you and everyone else that didn't even try to help… you all assumed that just because we couldn't feel, that we were BELOW human… you could've tried to help the others reunite with their hearts… once those hearts had been cleaned of their darkness. You didn't try to help… in fact, you tried to destroy us flat out! … or rather… Sora did, HE killed them all, made them fade away..."

The wispy male strode forward, his eyes stern and posture stiff like he was before.

"_Don't try to blame this all on Sora, Roxas. NONE of us can do this 'dirty work' that you speak of, besides, your not guiltless yourself, you're a traitor to the Organization, remember? Namine hasn't erased your memories, 'Silence traitor!' Don't you remember at all? We are not to blame because they fought us and tried to undo us as well Roxas. War starts and ends wth boths sides participation. After all, that Axel boy was killed trying to save Sora AND you why-" _

As more words left the man's mouth, the icier the pair of blue eyes turned. Anger seeped into Roxas' heart and mind swelling up to a crescendo as he jumped off the bed, enraged as he hissed at the apparition. "Ansem, you've gone too far! I'm still here because I AM paying off my guilt, and I'm helping the others, something no one else could care to do., THAT'S why I don't need a partner. And furthermore, none of you can do THIS because you're all DEAD. You're just memories, just like what you called me, you're Nothing!" In the blonde's fit of rage shadows covered Roxas' right fist, the shadows swirling and twisting together to form Oblivion. The Keyblade sliced through Ansem, shattering him back into light.

"Go back to your own kind DiZ… I have to go apologize to mine…."

* * *

Roxas sighed as he examined himself in the mirror, the sunset sending faint red light into the otherwise unlit room. The angry fit with the remnants of Ansem seemed far away as his task grew closer and closer. He tugged on the left drawstring's weight, starring at his reflection. It was his old outfit… the traditional black boots with white trim around the top with black leather pants tucked in. A long sleeved black shirt and the leather trench coat with a chain across the chest and two drawstrings with sliver weights on the end completed his reconstructed outfit... _'My old Organization cloak….' _The blonde sighed again, this time lifting up the hood and tugging it down over his spiky hair. He glanced over his apartment, the one bedroom painted in maroon and gold, the small bathroom colored in gold and white… the nice-sized living room with a connected kitchen/dining area, both a maroon and white combination. He silently wondered how long he would remain in this temporary home before moving on to another city, another state, another country, like a nomad. He looked down at a small sticky note, re-reading the address before stuffing the paper into the pocket on the inside of his cloak. The ex-Nobody slowly drifted to the front door, remaining in the room though, He locked and bolted the door before shadows curled up behind him, forming a dark portal that swallowed him whole.

The startled cries of birds echoed through a park in the middle of the town Roxas lived in, undercover, his past life hidden from the knowledge of the current occupants of this world, as it had been for the last couple of lives. The thick underbrush of the forest-y part of the park was trampled upon by a pair of black boots as Roxas gingerly walked through, his eyes scouting the shadows, hands at the ready to summon Oblivion and Oathkeeper: His trademark Keyblades. The powers of those weapons were soon to be shown again tonight. He'd already stocked up on homemade potions, considering he would need them and Moogles had long since gone extinct. As the blonde took a seat on the top of a bench, his feet resting on the seat of the wooden construction, he tugged his hood down a bit further as he inspected the grassy, somewhat hilly span of the middle of the park. He brushed a leaf that fell off from the tree above.

"I wonder if this park will be in one piece after I'm done…."

And those blue eyes, that mirrored the sea surrounding Destiny Islands, widened under their mask of the black hood as someone unseen spoke up, having overheard his brief, but incriminating, monologue.

_"What are you gonna do, kid? Set it on fire?"_

And thus ends Chapter 3. Confusing huh? Well, no worries, things will be making a lot more since soon coughchapter4and5cough Anywho, luffs are spread to those who hit that little button in the bottom left corner ;D Well, hope you enjoyed, critiques about what I'm failing epically at or what you like are much appreciated!!


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